Tips & Tricks: June 2006 Archives

Our goal is to help make sure that our users are getting the greatest possible benefit from the FloristWare order-taking and point-of-sale system, and are indeed saving time and money while increasing sales.

To that end we are going to post tips, tricks, advice and answers to your questions on a regular basis. We hope that all FloristWare users will check back on a regular basis or, better yet, subscribe so that new articles will be delivered to them directly.

Thanks!

Please Note: In June of 2007 "User Central" was reorganized and split up into a few different sections. Technical information and suggestions for users on how they can get more from the system appear here in "Tips, Tricks & Tweaks". Any news relating to the FloristWare the company now appears in a special "News" section.

We are currently planning our next set of podcasts. Instead of focusing on FloristWare, the three planned episodes will feature three different experts talking about how you can improve your business.

One contributor is a small business expert. Another is a branding and marketing specialist. The third is a well known expert in the retail flower business. In each 20 - 40 minute episode they will share their thoughts on how you can make your business better, stronger and more profitable than ever.

More information will be released as it becomes available! In the meantime, please let us know if there are any specific issues you would like to see addressed or questions you would like to have answered.

Thank you.

This article is designed to help Canadian FloristWare users prepare for the change in the GST rate that will take place on July 1, 2006.

If you live in Canada you have almost certainly heard that on July 1, 2006 the GST (Goods & Service Tax) rate will drop from 7% to 6%. While this is good news for the economy and consumers it has some florists worried in that they aren't sure how to change tax rates on their cash registers or POS systems.

If you are a FloristWare user you don't have to worry - it's going to be very easy for you!

Here is what you do. After you close for the day on June 30, 2006 or before you open for business on July 1, 2006 you will enter FloristWare at the "Manager" level and click the "Settings" button. From there you will select "Taxes: Rates" and click the "Continue" button.

On the next screen you will enter the new GST rate. Quit FloristWare, restart and you're ready to go.

It really is that simple. It is however very important,so if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call.

Thank you.

This article discusses how you can use the keyboard shortcuts in FloristWare to speed up the most common tasks like taking orders and making sales.

One of the great things about FloristWare is that it is very easy to use. This is largely the result of what is called the "graphic user interface". FloristWare asks you questions and you simply click the buttons to provide your answer.

This works great, but as time goes on some users wish that there was a way that they could speed through sales and orders a little faster. Ideally, they wouldn't have to use the mouse as much.

Fortunately FloristWare gives you a very powerful option! One most of the buttons that you see during the sale/order-taking process, there are two characters in the lower right hand corner that read "F1", "F2" or "F3".

Whenever you see them means that you can bypass the mouse. Instead, you need only to click the "Function 1", "Function 2", etc. keys and FloristWare will respond just as if you had pushed the button. (Please note that on some systems you have to hold down the Option key as you process the chosen Function key.)

This can be a real time saver once you get to know your way around FloristWare. Give it a try - you'll be amazed how much quicker it is!

The big news is that we're putting the finishing touches on the next major release of FloristWare, Version 2.0. A few beta testers are already using the new version and we're getting good feedback. Version 2.0 might represent the most significant upgrade to the FloristWare Floral POS system since it's introduction last year. More details on new features will be released shortly.

The projected release date for FloristWare Version 2.0 is July 10, 2006.

Many Canadian florists will have to change their settings to reflect the new National sales tax (known as the GST) rate on July 1, 2006. This has prompted several of them to ask about how they can go about changing their tax settings.

There is already an article devoted to this topic. While it specifically addresses the GST change as it will affect Canadian florists, all users should know it is easy to change your tax settings at any time.

The thing to remember is that you make the change on the server machine AFTER you have closed for business on the last day at the old tax rate and BEFORE you open for business on the first day at the new tax rate. You will need to quit FloristWare and restart once you have made the change.

Thank you!

The Daily Sales Report is probably the most commonly used report in FloristWare. You should really be printing it out every single day.

Many florists have their own cash-out and daily sales summary sheets that have evolved over the years, and they are often very attached to them. It is sometimes hard for them to make the switch to the FloristWare Daily Sales Report.

Change is always hard, and when it involves something as important and familiar as your Daily Sales Report it can be even more scary.

However, you really should give the FloristWare Daily Sales Report a try. If you use it the way it is designed you will find that it is very effective and can save you a lot of time.

This week we're going to spotlight one of the new marketing features that will be available in Version 2.0 of the FloristWare Point-of-Sale System for Florists, due to be released in the very near future.

FloristWare has always been very good at helping florists with their marketing. In a matter of minutes it can help you create a list of people that you want to target and then begin the process of contacting them (in an attempt to get them to make a purchase) in a number of different ways - you can generate postcards, mailing labels, phone lists or, perhaps most attractive of all, e-mail. FloristWare allows you to create a template and them uses it to automatically prepare and send a customized e-mail for each person on your list.

This is a great feature, but it's about to get a whole lot better. Until now you have been limited to simple text e-mails. In FloristWare version 2.0 you can send fully formatted html e-mails. This allows you to have complete control over the appearance of your marketing e-mails and include graphics and links to your site.

This kind of e-mail is generally much more efficient for marketing purposes so this new feature should really help you generate some sales for your flower shop.

Version 2.0 of the FloristWare Floral Point-Of-Sale system is expected to be released in july 2006.

P.S. Here is an interesting article on html e-mail.